Unidentified Blue Lightning
by Glorytommy
Summary: Between being a full-time college students and working part-time, Mai Taniyama feels like her life is becoming a bit bland. One night she wishes for a change and gets it in the form of a stranger... but just who is this man and why is he so... odd? AU. Naru x Mai.
1. Probe One, Stranger

**A/N:** Yes, I am a horrible person for starting so many projects and taking ages to finish them (and they _will_ get finished, don't you worry)… but the ideas keep coming… so I'll just keep writing.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

* * *

**Unidentified Blue Lightning**

_Probe One: Stranger_

There are some people in the world that are just doomed to live an uneventful life. This, Mai Taniyama was wholly convinced of, and she found herself to be one of these unfortunate people.

Unlike most college students, she was not on her way to some amazing party where there would most likely be hot boys and close quarter dancing—oh no. She was going home to take a long, hot shower and fall straight into her bed for some much needed rest, despite the fact that it was only seven o'clock at night.

It wasn't her ideal choice, but having just ended a six hour shift at her part-time job, she still had to worry about school work—which she planned to do in the morning—and, of course, about the next day—where she started the routine of school and work all over again.

And as _wonderful_ as all of _that_ sounded, Mai missed her high school days. She remembered having much more time on her hands back then. Now she had responsibilities that needed to be attended to. Of course, as an orphan, she was used to having to support herself, but she had always had help. Now she was pretty much on her own.

She had become so busy with this, that she had neglected the strong relationship she had once had with her high school friends. She may have saw them often around town and spoke to them occasionally, but she didn't have much time to hang out with them anymore and they had grown distant from her.

Mai didn't really like the way that her life was now. It was too bland and scheduled. Every day seemed to be the same and she didn't want that. She wanted something spontaneous to happen to her.—Something unexpected.

She wasn't asking for a metro to strike her down and give her amazing superpowers or anything,—though it was a cool thought—she just wanted it to be, something that could change her life, even in a small way.

Holding her breath, she looked to the stars as if the answer to all her problems would be there up among the infinite. She found herself waiting, almost believing that there was a possibility it could happen. Nothing did though and she sighed, feeling a bit silly for expecting it to. She had always been a bit childish.

It was then, however, that someone bumped shoulders with her, not bothering to apologize or give her a passing glance. Her brow twitched in irritation at this, her current state of mind putting her slightly in a sour mood. Turning, she prepared to shoot him a glare, but instead became perplexed at what she saw.

It wasn't his handsome features that stunned her—though his tall physique and impeccable bone structure were defiantly a sight. It was his drenched appearance. He was soaked from head to toe, leaking water from just about everywhere. The strangest part was that he did not seem to mind it, he held his head high and paid no attention to the stares he got from passerbys. It was so peculiar a sight that Mai couldn't help but stare and wonder.

She felt a bit sorry for him. There was an autumn chill in the air as the months came closer to winter and she was sure he was probably freezing. Just looking at him made her feel a bit chilly herself, enough to wrap her jacket tighter around her torso.

Watching him, a bud of curiosity blossomed in her and, before she registered her actions, she was following him.

Something told her that though he held his head high, the man wasn't that way on the inside. He walked, as if distracted with a deep thought. It was no wonder he had bumped into her.

She didn't really have a reason for her sudden interest, but his situation intrigued her, as silly as that sounded. Mai was interested in knowing what put him in such a state.

It was stupid of her to follow a stranger, anything could happen—she knew that. However, she couldn't just let him go walking around the way he was. He seemed foreign, in some way she couldn't describe, and if he stayed outside as wet as he was he was sure come down with quite the fever. She couldn't possibly let him go until she knew he would be alright. She was the kind of person that didn't mind helping out a total stranger.

This thought empowered her and before she knew it she had already followed him down a few blocks more than she had meant to. It had taken a bit of time to catch up to him. He wasn't rushing, but his legs were much longer than her own and she had to practically rush to close the distance between them. She was only a good few feet away now and didn't really know what to do about it.

It wasn't her intention to follow him around, but she couldn't find the nerve to call him out and had hoped that maybe he would have noticed her following him. He hadn't of course, or at least decided not to give her any sign that he had. Whatever the case, she wasn't really sure how she would explain herself. She had replayed the scenario in her head multiple times but couldn't find one she liked. There was only one thing she could agree on: she had already gone too far to change her mind now.

This was the resolution she made as she followed his turn around the corner with the new determination to confront him. But as fate would have it, whatever courage she had fled as she found herself pushed against the wall of a brick building, arms pinned above her head by a strong hand, while the other wrapped around her throat, leaving just enough room to breathe.

Frightened, she stared with wide brown eyes into narrowed blue ones. The stranger glared so hard that she could have sworn his eyes sparked lightning and he stood so close that the water from his dark hair splashed down on her, dampening her clothes and wetting her face.

Neither talked for the first few moments. Mai was too shocked at her predicament and the man seemed to be scanning her over, deciding if she was some kind of threat.

He was the one who broke the silence first.

"You have been following me," he said, his voice deep and intelligent, his Japanese _almost_ perfect. The comment sounded more like an observation than a question, but from the look in his eyes she could tell the 'why' was implied.

Mai gulped against the pressure on her neck. The stranger seemed to realize she needed her throat to speak, and removed his hand from it.

Taking in a sharp breath, the young woman shifted uncomfortably and let out a long, winded, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to seem suspicious or anything! I swear! It's just that you're soaked and I was going to make sure you were ok, is all. I mean I was kind of curious too. Its cold out and all that water must make you, like, super cold… right? I know it's kind of stupid of me.—Gosh that was stupid! Haha. Believe it or not, it isn't the first time I've made idiotic decisions. But anyways, I—"

The man clamped a hand firmly over her lips, successfully cutting off her chain of rambling nonsense. "You are strange," he decided and upon releasing her mouth added a skeptical, "Why should one care about another person's affairs?"

She huffed, offended at his chosen adjective for her, "Why not? If someone needs my help, I'm not just going to stand around and watch."

"I see…" With eyebrows furrowed he released her wrists, the concept seeming new to him.

Happy to be free, Mai took a moment to adjust her now crumpled clothing and shivered slightly against the chill she felt through the now dampened fabric. Turning her attention to the stranger, she found him staring at their surroundings and, though his face gave nothing away to what he was thinking, his eyes darted from street to street as if he were looking for something.

"So," Mai began, bring his attention back to her for a moment, "why are you drenched like that?"

"That is none of your concern," was his immediate answer.

"Ok," she frowned and decided to try something else, "Well, aren't you cold?"

"That is irrelevant."

Mai snorted, deciding to ignore his rudeness, "You're drenched to the bone in almost-winter weather. I'd be _freezing_ if I was you."

"I feel no such thing," he stated simply and turned his attention back to the streets.

It was then that she realized that it was not the streets he was interested in, but the street _signs_. "Are you lost or something?" she questioned, tilting her head.

He tensed a bit in the shoulders at the word and closed his eyes, "…No."

"Oh?" Feeling she must have got it right she grinned, leaning forward slightly, "Liar. You _are_ lost aren't you?"

He opened his eyes and glared at her, "It is impossible to be lost when one does not technically have a specific destination in mind."

"You're not from around here, are you?" She asked, ignoring him again. She already had it in her mind that he had no clue where he was going.

"Correct."

"Are you visiting someone?"

He didn't answer, ignoring her this time as he chose a seemly random direction and walked in it.

Huffing, she ran after him, "It's not polite to walk away when someone's talking to you."

His jaw tightened, "Do you intend to follow me around all night?"

"Why don't you just admit you need some help?" Mai countered, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"Because I do not need it," he stated firmly, pausing to peer down at her, "and why would it matter to you if I did?"

She faltered at this, unsure of what to say. "…Because… it just does. That's just how I am," she scoffed awkwardly, face turning an embarrassed pink, "Anyway, you brought this upon yourself when you bumped into me. I wouldn't wave noticed you otherwise."

He could not seemed to recall the event. "What are you going on about?"

"See? You don't even remember something that only happened a few minutes ago," she tisked as if it proved something and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "What had you so dazed?"

"It does not pertain to you."

"Well, fine then. Don't tell me. Sorry for actually trying to help," she frowned, stubbornly crossing her arms under her chest.

He sparred her a glance, "Why are you getting so upset?"

"I'm not," she grumbled, refusing to look at him.

The man frowned, confused by her behavior.

A few minutes went by like this as they walked in silence before it was interrupted by a sneeze.

Mai blinked, anger dissolving as she turned to the man beside her, who tried to play it off as if he hadn't been the one to make the sound. She sighed, finally having enough. "My god, come on."

Before the stranger could ask what she meant, the brunette forcefully grabbed his hand and pulled him in the previous direction she had been heading. To her surprise he didn't resist, but instead followed silently, fingers limp in her own. Suddenly self-conscious of her own actions she flushed at her own boldness and refused to turn around to see his expression.

xXx

"Here."

A pink, fluffy towel was thrown a little too forcefully in the stranger's direction who caught it with ease. He gave it a quizzical stare.

"Well?" Mai huffed, hands on her hips, "Dry yourself off and remove your shoes before you step onto the carpet." With that she disappeared behind the corner only to pop her head back out again to add, "Oh, socks too—they're probably soaked, right? There should be guest slippers somewhere over there." She indicated vaguely with a wave of her hand and left his sight again.

The woman then proceeded to hunt through her apartment. There had to have been something the stranger could change into. She didn't want him to catch a cold, if he hadn't already. Stumbling upon her storage closet, she paused, lips pressing into a thin line. "Guess that's the only choice…" she muttered to herself with a sigh and opened the closet door.

Pushing a few objects of clutter out of the way, she pulled out and old worn out medium sized cardboard box labeled 'keepsakes and the like' and proceeded to go through it with a careful quickness. The box was filled with her parent's old things.

The few objects she hadn't managed to sell or give away rested there, mostly stuff like pictures and her mother's locket, but a few of her father's clothes were there too. Her mother had kept them because she had wanted to remember how he'd always smelled like syrup and pine needles. The scent was long gone now, but Mai couldn't bare getting rid of something her mother kept so dear to her. Besides, her father never wore anything like a watch or the like, so his favorite outfit was really the only thing of his that she had.

Holding the neatly folded flannel shirt and worn jeans to her chest, she put the box away and walked back to the stranger who had followed her instructions and was now in the living room, staring at the makeshift shrine she'd made for her parents, and using the towel she'd given him to dry his hair. The pink material looked out of place against his dark attire.

As she entered the room he gave her his full attention and so she immediately presented him with the outfit in her hands. "Sorry it's probably not a snug fit, but it's the only thing I have here at the moment. If you change into this I can wash and dry your clothes for you."

The stranger stared at the clothing for a moment before taking them from her with a nod. She pointed him in the direction of the bathroom and he left to change.

Watching him go she sighed, suddenly extremely aware of the fact she'd let a complete stranger into her apartment. Not that he was dangerous… at least hopefully he wasn't. It was just that the length she was willing to go to help people surprised ever herself at times.

Maybe she really was strange.

Pondering on this thought, Mai headed into her kitchen feeling the effects of her earlier drowsiness come back. She needed something to keep her up.

Tea, she decided, would probably do it.

xXx

"Is there a certain way this should be washed?" Mai called into the living room from her place in the hallway where her washer sat within an alcove in the wall. She eyed the stranger's clothing with interest as she felt the material. Upon closer inspection it wasn't like anything she'd seen before. She wasn't sure what setting the machines should be put on. "I wouldn't want to accidently shrink it or anything…" she added when she didn't get an answer right away.

"No, there is no specification, but a cool wash before air drying it seems to work best," he explained evenly.

"Oh, ok. Air drying takes a while though… and its night. You don't have anywhere to be do you?" She questioned, tossing the articles of clothing into the washer.

"If you are asking if I have a prior engagement with someone, then the answer is no."

"…But your busy?" she questioned, fixing the washer settings.

"It can wait. You were right when you said it was unwise to walk around wet in such temperatures. I am not used to such climates and forget the health risks of such an action."

"Well, you're welcome." Starting the washer, she headed back into the living room area.

"This beverage…" he questioned, examining the cup from his spot on the couch. "What is it?"

"…Tea," she frowned, sitting across from him in an old arm chair and picking up her own cup from off the coffee table. "You've never had it before?"

"No, I cannot say that I have," he confirmed, drinking the liquid in his cup abnormally fast.

Watching him quizzically, she moved to pour him some more tea. "So… How'd you get so drenched? It couldn't have been rain because the weather's been as dry as a bone all week."

Peering at her from over his raised coffee cup he exhaled, "Why do you insist on prying?"

She shrugged. "I'm curious."

"Curiosity terminated the feline," he countered, drinking down half of his tea.

Mai chuckled, "That's one way to say it I guess."

"Is there any other way?"

"Well, most people say 'killed the cat', right?" she explained.

He didn't answer.

It was her turn to exhale. "Come on, tell me. I'll just keep asking until you do."

"Persistence isn't always a good thing," he warned and held out his tea cup for her to fill it again.

She did. "But it usually shows some pretty good results for me."

Shifting in his seat the man turned his gaze to his tea cup. He stared at it for a moment in silence. His face didn't give anything away, but she could tell that he was thinking something over. "I've been searching for something."

Mai leaned forward in interest, "What did you lose it in a river?"

"A lake," he corrected in a way that said the conversation was over.

Nodding absently, she filled his cup for the third time and she processed the small amount of information he'd given her. Loosing something would definitely explain why he had looked almost lost and disoriented when they had met. It must have been important if he went through the trouble of searching through a lake for it. "I… could help you find it if you want," she offered.

He examined her for a moment and took another sip of tea. "Why?"

"Because everyone could use a little help now and then… Besides, you said you weren't from here, right? I don't mind helping you out." Tilting her head, she smiled at him. "By the way. I don't think I ever introduced myself. I'm Mai Taniyama… and you?"

"…Kazuya Shibuya."


	2. Probe Two, Headache

**Unidentified Blue Lightning**

_Probe 2: Headache_

Mai woke up two hours earlier than her normal schedule with a terrible headache tormenting her brain. Her eyes teared up as her cranium pounded like a drum and her fingers wrapped around her head in a feeble attempt to stop the beating. Never in her whole life had she had a headache like this before. It was like someone was drilling into her head, or setting it on fire.

The rest of her body wasn't doing much better. Everything was sore and achy. Just attempting to sit up was difficult, but she did it, albeit at a turtle-like pace. Gripping her head with one hand, Mai moaned and reacted for her cellphone on the nightstand.

_5:20 am_. It read, and she sighed, carefully lying back down.

Maybe if she could sleep it off.

xXx

The next time she woke up it was to her phone alarm and she was feeling slightly better. The headache was only a mildly painful now and her body was stiff, but it was certainly easier to move.

Mai was grateful for the strangely quick recovery. She couldn't afford to take off from work and she had her classes to worry about. Missing a day at university wasn't something she wanted to do. She already wasn't the greatest student grade-wise, but if she missed a class she would probably end up falling behind. One could say that she was a bit slow to understand things.

Her odd episode bothered her, however. She had never been in a situation where her head hurt to the point of her wanting to cry, at least not that she could remember. Mai couldn't help but wonder if she had gotten sick, but she couldn't think of any kind of sickness that would give her those kind of symptoms and she couldn't remember putting anything unusual into her system.

She felt fine now though, and figured it was probably best to start getting ready for her classes. Which also meant working on late homework.

xXx

When Mai finally left her apartment she found that it had snowed overnight. Which surprised her slightly because it was still about mid fall and snow was something saved for winter. It was pretty cold outside too, which made her wish she had brought her mufflers along.

Burying her face deep into the folds of her scarf, she sped up her walking toward the bus stop two blocks down the road. Mother Nature was working her winter magic early this year. The wind was really nippy and she could clearly see her breath floating from her mouth in clouds.

When she reached her destination, Mai took a seat on the bench, which was a bit empty because of the weather. She figured that people had probably had called in sick, whether they were actually not feeling well or not. She couldn't blame them though, she wished that she could do the same. Everyone deserved a break every now and then, especially in this weather.

Boredom washed over her as she waited for the bus and she found her eyes scanning her surroundings for something interesting to observe. There wasn't really much.

The thin layer of snow covering the ground made the cityscape particularly pretty, and even though it was only slightly sticking together she felt that it was likely that the children in the area would be out after school playing around in it if it didn't melt by then. The mental picture made her smile.

Amidst all the snow, she saw an interesting red headed woman in a black trench coat on the other side of the road. She was stunning with her red lipstick and high heels, though it was hard to tell exactly what she looked like because of the dark shades covering her eyes. From where Mai was sitting she could see the woman leaning against the car on speaking on a phone. She couldn't help but think that she must have been cold with only a lightweight jacket on, but the weather didn't seem to bother her at all.

The young college student couldn't help but wish that she had that kind of tolerance to the cold. If she didn't bundle up properly there was always a good chance she'd catch the sniffles.

Because of the snow, the bus was slightly late getting to the stop but Mai found that she was still able to get to her first class a few minutes before it began. A few other students where in there too, but usually most of them ran in just as it hit time to start class.

"I'm surprised to see you coming in so early, Taniyama-san," was the first thing she heard as she stepped through the classroom doors.

Mai turned to her teacher sitting at his desk and gave him a sheepish smile, "I woke up a little early today."

"I hope this becomes a habit," he hinted and waved a hand over. "Come here for a moment."

Walking over a little nervously, she clasped a hand to her chest. _Folklore and the Supernatural_ was one of her favorite courses, and Lin-sensei was one of her favorite teachers, but like any of the other classes she had first in the day she tended to somehow always end up at least a few minutes late to it. This teacher in particular wasn't as big fan of tardiness and she was often scolded for it… but it wasn't like she _tried_ to be late.

Lin-sensei was a very tall Chinese man, who didn't show much of an expression unless he was annoyed or angry. He was also rumored to have a hatred toward the Japanese, because of the things that were done to the Chinese during WWII when Japan was with the Nazis. Though, it was hard to tell if that was true, or if the students were just using it as an excuse for why he liked to grade everyone's work so hard. Most people, including herself, had taken it as an elective, but unlike her they expected it to be an easy going class and it wasn't _anything_ like that.

"This," he started to explain, holding up an assignment she recognized to be a test, "is very disappointing." He always told her some form of this comment after every test she took and the only reason he bothered to was because she showed the most interest in the subject. Surprising she usually did well on essays, classwork, and homework… but when it came to tests she always fell short of expectations.

Now, usually she would reply to this with an "I know… I'm sorry," but today was a bit different. When Mai looked at the paper, it was with a partially confused expression. Part of her remembered taking it, but for some reason it felt a bit foreign like it was the first time she was seeing it. It wasn't the fact that she hadn't done well on it that had her feeling that way, it was just that it didn't seem right. And then she caught a look at the date printed at the top.

"Is… that right…?" She questioned, taking the test from his hand.

The Chinese man quirked a brow at the change in their routine conversation. "If you questioning my ability to grade—"

She shook her head, "Not that. The date."

Her sensei looked at her as if she had grown three heads. "It is already December, Taniyama-san…"

"December…?" Mai stared at him in confusion, "but December is still two months away."

"No," he corrected, pointing to the calendar on his desk. "December is already here." He eyed her. "Are you feeling well?"

That didn't make any sense… or did it. Just yesterday hadn't iy been the beginning of October? But December? That would explain why there was snow on the ground, she hadn't ever remember it being that cold in fall. Had she gotten her dates mixed up? It wasn't like she could have forgotten the last two months of her life, right? She was just being silly.

But—

"Ah!" Mai clutched the side of her head as the headache from earlier came back ten times over. Staggering, she gripped the desk for support.

Lin-sensei was instantly on his feet, looking at her with as much concern as he would let show on his face. Must have _really_ not looked well in he was worried about her. "Taniyama-san what's—"

She never caught the rest of his sentence before she blacked out, falling into his outstretched arms.

xXx

"_I'm sorry that it turned out like this…"_

Mai woke up feeling perfectly fine. Though her body was still stiff, she couldn't feel any sign of the headache from earlier. Exhaling, she felt her face heat up as she realized she had fainted in front of both her class and a teacher she very much respected. "Oh Mai…" she reprimanded herself, slapping her forehead with one of her hands.

"Oh good, you're up," a voice said as a blond woman slid back the curtain surrounding the bed she was occupying. It was one of the University's nurses. "I hope the pain medication is helping that headache?"

Nodding, Mai realized that much have been why she felt so much better. She offered to woman a light smile, "Yes, thank you… I can't feel it anymore."

"You're welcome," the nurse chuckled, "But don't thank me, you should thank that teacher of yours. He's the one who carried you in."

Mai frowned in surprised, eyebrows raising, "Lin-sensei did?"

She winked, "Sure did. He's nicer than he looks, don't you think? When you're up to it you should go see him so he knows you're all right… classes ended a little while ago so he's probably free."

She shot up instantly at this, "They did?!"

The nurse help up her hands in warning, "Woah there, be careful now."

The brunette only half listened as she pulled the covers back and slid out of bed. "I've got to get going! I can't believe I slept through all my lectures!" She frantically explained, gathering her things that had been slung over the chair by the bed.

"Are you sure? I'd recommend sitting here for a moment just to make sure everything is alright," the woman explained, looking a bit concerned. "You did just faint after all…"

Mai nodded vigorously, already halfway out the door. "I feel perfectly fine!" She called over her shoulder. "I really need to be going!"

She needed to see her professors before she took to bus to work, hopefully she wouldn't be late for her shift.

"Don't push yourself!" The nurse yelled after her.

"I won't!"

* * *

Hehe. Thank you for the lovely reviews and to all my silent readers as well.

Think you guys know where I'm going with this? I'd love to hear your guesses ~


End file.
